America left Afghanistan littered with rotting factories, schools, offices

According to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or CIGAR, a range of US government agencies invested an estimated $145 billion in construction and infrastructure projects, equipment for Afghan security forces, humanitarian aid, drug programs and other spending.

Across the country, local Afghan partners often lack the expertise and resources to maintain buildings and equipment after they have been handed over. According to Cigar, in many cases, the US government manufactured things that Afghans did not want or need.

Some facilities and equipment were damaged in the fighting. In other cases, whether through malice or incompetence, American, Afghan and international contractors never delivered what they were paid for, Cigar’s report shows.

An independent Defense Department Sentinel Cigars conducted a routine audit of US spending and found that the US government wasted at least $2.4 billion on capital assets that were “unused or discarded, not used for their intended purposes, spoiled”. were lost, or were destroyed.”

To be sure, Cigar noted that US investments in the reconstruction of Afghanistan “have had some remarkable successes.” A recent audit—before the Taliban took control of the country—points to a $7.3 million agricultural education center and a $5.9 million women’s hostel in Herat. University, a $2 million raisin processing plant in Kandahar and facilities at Kandahar’s airport.

Here is a sample of some failed projects.

Source: Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Report, WSJ Reporting

G222 Airplane, Kabul Airport

$549 million

In early 2008, the US Air Force spent $549 million to purchase and maintain 20 refurbished G222 medium-lift transport aircraft for the Afghan Air Force. The US plans to fly planes to Kabul’s international airport, train potential Afghan pilots, and hand over the plane to the Afghan military.

Sixteen aircraft were sent to Afghanistan, and four were later delivered to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. In Afghanistan, the aircraft suffered chronic maintenance problems related to a lack of spare parts, poor workmanship and shoddy refurbishment prior to delivery of the aircraft. In addition, Air Force investigators noted that the aircraft did not fly well in the climate and altitude of Afghanistan. US military officials began receiving startling reports of near-fatal crashes mid-flight.

As of 2012, only nine of the 16 aircraft were approved to fly, and six were cannibalized for parts. Meanwhile, the remaining four aircraft at Ramstein were poorly refurbished. The Air Force decided to cancel the program but could not find anyone interested in purchasing the aircraft. In 2014, the US military sold the planes for scrap to an Afghan company for $40,000.

Kabul Luxury Hotel and Grand Residence, Kabuli

$85 million

Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a US government agency that financed and insured private sector development projects, provided an $85 million loan to build a luxury hotel and apartment building across the street from the US Embassy in Kabul. The hotel, which was to be called Marriott Kabul, was meant to repatriate foreign investors and Afghan nationals.

Construction began in 2009 and was halted four years later, with news reports citing safety fears. In 2016, cigar inspectors along with armed embassy security personnel found the site unfinished, abandoned and suffering from major structural damage. That year the cigar auditors stated that the contractor had made a false statement about the pace of construction in order to receive the final loan disbursement. The embassy took over security in the abandoned building and eventually denounced the site. An embassy official later told Cigar that the building was neither seismic nor explosion resistant and could not be salvaged.

In 2011, construction began on an apartment building next to the hotel, called the Kabul Grand Residence, which was eventually intended to house migrant workers, diplomats, aid workers, US government personnel and local Afghans. After the final loan disbursement, the recipient informed OPIC that the company has ceased operations. In 2016, inspectors left the project incomplete and determined that the recipient’s claims about the speed of construction were clearly false and unrealistic.

The cigar inspectors wrote in a memo for the record, “No place in any building was suitable for human occupancy, noting that the upper stories are inhabited by birds.

Vehicle Scanner, Sher Khan Bandar and Torkham Border Crossing

$5.6 million

In 2006, the Defense Department purchased two Rapiscan Eagle G6000 vehicle-scanning machines for $2.8 million each and installed them at border posts over the next few years to help the Afghan government combat smuggling and collect customs duties.

Scanners at Sher Khan Bandar, across the Panj River from Tajikistan, and Torkham on the border with Pakistan were handed over to the Afghan government in 2013 and used to inspect banned vehicles for nearly two years. As American advisers left the facility, one of the Sher Khan monkeys fell into disrepair. Afghan officials crossing the border said they ran into technical and software problems and maintenance issues and did not have personnel capable of operating the machine. The second, in Torkham, was reported to have been damaged by a Pakistani rocket, and Afghan officials said they were not given the resources to repair it.

Kashmiri Goat Farm and Laboratory, Herat

$2.3 million

The Defense Department set aside $2.3 million to set up a goat farm and laboratory in Herat with the goal of breeding a herd of 2,000 goats that would produce lighter, whiter cashmere than Afghanistan’s typically heavier, darker wool. Will command higher prices on the market. Cashmere In 2014, Colorado State University, which had received a grant to set up the facility, reported that it was up and running. But a goat disease outbreak and lack of space to graze the herd hampered operations. The university faced bureaucratic trouble transferring ownership to the Afghan company it had identified to handle the operations. As of 2017, the facility was abandoned and its equipment was stripped and physically deteriorating.

Afghan National Police Complex, Kunduzi

$1.7 million

In 2012, the Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $1.7 million contract to an Afghan-owned construction company to build a complex for the Afghan National Police north of Kunduz. A year later, construction had barely begun, and inspectors found the buildings at risk of structural failure. The facility was designed to run the generator without a connection to the local power grid, making it susceptible to frequent power outages.

By 2020, the complex was complete, but was abandoned by the Afghan National Police after Taliban attacks. An Afghan official told US inspectors that the robbers had made off with the fixtures from the compound.

Khost City Electric Power System, Khost

$1.6 million

In 2008, the Defense Department set aside $1.6 million to renovate and upgrade a dilapidated and unreliable power plant in Khost, a city in southeastern Afghanistan. As of July 2009, two of the five new generators were not working, and the roof was falling. Only one of the plant’s 20 workers was trained to operate and maintain the generator, and the generator’s user manuals were printed in English, a language local officials could not read. As of May 2020, the power plant was abandoned and deteriorated beyond repair. An Afghan official said the government did not have funding or information on maintaining and operating it.

Community Agricultural Storage Facility, Alingari

$771,000

In 2008, the Defense Department approved a $771,000 contract to build a facility in Alinger to store and process grain. In 2011, inspectors were already concerned that the project would not work, and by 2020, the facility was abandoned. Several buildings suffered structural damage, and most equipment was stripped for parts, including light fixtures and wires ripped from walls. A local official told US government investigators that the Afghan government had never assigned anyone to operate and maintain the facility, and that the local community did not have the knowledge or resources to do so.

Alisheng Oluswali Footbridge, Lagman

$89,000

The Department of Defense funded the $89,000 pedestrian bridge over the Alisheng River in Lagman Province, which was completed in February 2009. The following year, inspectors said that the bridge appeared to be damaged by flooding, possibly because it was poorly built. As of May 2020, the bridge was swept away, with only the foundation and wooden debris left.